In February 2009 South Orange Maplewood and Milburn-Short Hills three small but relatively affluent New Jersey communities became the first towns to host a local Patch site launching a network that has since grown to include more than 860 sites in twenty-two states and Washington D.C. Because of its rapid expansion and the accompanying media scrutiny Patch has played a central role in the conversation about the potential and the pitfalls of “hyperlocal” journalism. Now includes: Patch (California), Patch (Connecticut), Patch (District of Columbia), Patch (Florida), Patch (Georgia), Patch (Illinois), Patch (Iowa), Patch (Maryland), Patch (Massachusetts), Patch (Michigan), Patch (Minnesota), Patch (Missouri), Patch (New Hampshire), Patch (New Jersey), Patch (New York), Patch (North Carolina), Patch (Ohio), Patch (Pennsylvania), Patch (Rhode Island), Patch (South Carolina), Patch (Virginia), Patch (Washington State). Patch (Wisconsin)